Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Overview

Produced after a ten year absence of new Star Trek, the motion picture was originally planned as a TV series, Star Trek Phase II. Actual test footage was shot, and the casting was finalised, but people at Paramount changed their minds after seeing the success of Star Wars. In

Synopsis

The film opens with three Klingon cruisers encountering a massive cloud. Attempts to attack it are blocked, and before long the Klingon vessels are destroyed. Meanwhile, at Starfleet Headquarters, Admiral James Kirk is attempting to convince Admiral Nogura to let him take command of the Enterprise once again. Upon securing this agreement, he meets with Scotty, who warns him that the Enterprise has just undergone a major refit. Kirk explains to him that Starfleet needs the ship operational within hours, so it can investigate the huge cloud encountered by the Klingons. It is on a direct course for Earth.

Kirk relieves an angry Captain Decker of command of the Enterprise, and the ship launches hours later. Difficulties with the warp drive cause the ship to become temporarily caught in a wormhole. At this point, Spock joins the crew fresh from his Kohlinar training on Vulcan. He explains he sensed the cloud, and a great and powerful conciousness within. He assists Scotty in repairing the Enterprise's warp drive, and the ship heads on to the cloud.

After an initial confrontation, in which the crew avoid the same fate as the Klingons, the Enterprise enters the cloud and finds a huge starship within. On being pulled inside with a tractor beam, a probe from the large vessel boards the Enterprise and vapourises the ship's navigator, Lieutenant Ilia. It then takes on her form and communicates with the crew. She explains that the conciousness controlling the large ship is called V'ger, and is trying to reach Earth to meet and join with 'the creator'.

As they approach Earth, the cloud dissipates and V'ger begins sending out a radio single calling it's creator. Puzzled by V'ger's search for the creator, Kirk eventually persuades the Ilia-probe to allow them to meet with V'ger.

Stepping out of the Enterprise Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Decker and the Ilia-probe are led to V'ger's central brain complex. Kirk quickly realises that V'ger is actually Voyager 6, lost centuries ago. Spock postulates that the probe was found and enhanced by an alien civilisation, and sent back to Earth. Realising that the creator was a human, Decker and the Ilia-probe merge with V'ger to create a new conciousness capable of continuing to explore the universe on a new level.

Production Notes

The final budget total for the film was in excess of $40 million, although this could be attributed to the cost of design work that had gone into the new series, much of which was not used. The film was not the success Paramount were hoping for.

Director's Edition

In 2002, Robert Wise return to the film. It was re-cut and new effects created by Foundation Imaging were added in, to create Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition.

Foundation Imaging were responsible for the groundbreaking effects on Babylon 5.

Record 759 - film - Last update 10 Oct 2007, 12:37:13

Entry written by: DiscoBurgess

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